Crescent City, CA

So, this past weekend, Reg, Scout, Luke (yes, the new member of our family!) and myself headed up the coast to the beach town of Crescent City. My mom and dad drove down and met us and we got to explore the redwoods, tour highway 101 and check out the local beach town cuisine.




I'll say quickly, yes the separation anxiety stricken dog, Shorty...now named Luke, has found a permanent home with us. He is a loving and calming presence, content to play ferociously with Scout then curl up at your feet and sleep. After braving the streets of Sacramento during the peak heat and fire season, he's found a much better home. He wasn't neutered and didn't like dog food much (yes, even the kind the spoiled Scout eats) so we hypothesize he was eating table scraps before. He also appears to be 12-18 months old. Originally the Yolo SPCA thought he was 2-4 years old due to the worn appearance of his teeth, but the Vet said he is probably around 12 months old, and is definitely no more than 18 months. What appeared to be wear on his teeth was actually pitting, a form of scarring due to serious illness. Most likely he had distemper when he was a puppy. He also drinks A LOT of water. Everything appears to be ok with him, but the Vet hypothesizes it is due to him learning that when we came upon a puddle he had to drink all of it as he wouldn't know when he would find it again. He's fitting in very well, and Scout is taking well to him. The only problem, is as I mentioned in my previous post, they are double the trouble. We imagine they must think spaghetti is very similar to confetti....


(This is why you don't store food on the floor with the dogs...)


We skipped out of town around noon on Friday and made the trek up the coast on highway 101. What an awesome highway, I've wanted to drive it for a while and still would like to do a longer trip in the Vette. The roadside view is always beautiful and there are some great twisting sections with good banking...I can't imagine how much I'd owe the CHP if I had Vette down here.

Right now is the rut- deer mating season. Thankfully we didn't encounter any on the highway, but due to the season we were able to easily view several different types of deer, and a few members of the giant elk herd that lives in the redwoods. We also came across bear droppings near two different blackberry patches- thankfully no bears though.

My mom found the place as it was a good "central" location (we had the easy drive @ 6 hours, theirs took 9.) It is a little beach town that used to be big in getting logs out to sea for shipping and later became a big fishing town. Lately it has been relying a bit more on tourism as a lot of fishermen are leaving town due to the tough times.

We made it in late that first night and after setting up our place, a nice little house with the beach almost right out the front door. After setting up the dogs with some dinner, a walk and some treats we took off for "The Grotto" a local restaurant recommended for its clam chowder. We were one of the last groups seated but had a good dinner and a decent view (it was pretty dark.) The chowder was good, but it can't compete with Duke's on Greenlake, or Mo's at Canon Beach. We went back to the house and relaxed a bit by the fire while catching up.

The next morning we hit the road early. First checking out the Battery Point Lighthouse on the tip of the "crescent." Scout demonstrated her superb rock-doggery as she scrambled up and down the rocky beach and sniffed around in the surf. The lighthouse we really cool but not as cool as the archetype of an old sailor who still lived there. Short and stout with great big white beard and a captain's hat, he walked around looking out over the ocean through a pair of binoculars. We then cruised down the beach a ways while the dogs burnt off a good bit of their energy scrambling over the rocks and chasing each other.



We headed off to see the redwood forests next. We went for a cool drive deep into the forests and got out and hiked around with the dogs where allowed. We picnicked out in the forest and enjoyed the damp, cool air. You don't get that stuff in Davis. (With some delicious cheese, a Mediterranean white cheese and some hot habenero curds, from the local cheese factory.) We headed down a little further and hiked off the road to this stream and went for a swim...ok, I fell in...and Scout and Luke played in the water some.

While walking in Jedidiah Smith State park we spotted a frog in a hole.


You feel a bit remorseful seeing those giant trees standing tall and powerful, while just a few miles ago they were all gone. It is amazing how quickly something so old and strong can be completely removed in such a small fraction of the time it took to become that way.

We continued on walking through the forest and driving out to 199 to swing through some more forest on our way back to Crescent City. We stopped by a look out and some students from Humboldt State were watching a gray whale about 4 miles out (there migration through the area is set to begin in a few weeks.) Obviously we couldn't see them but there were some pretty awesome views to be had from that lookout.

That evening we ate at the Chart Room. A family owned joint where all the local fishermen eat and work during the offseason. This place was known for its fish and chips. I figured it would be another, "best fish and chips" place. I was wrong, it was the best fish and chips I've had yet. Reg had a crab and shrimp linguine apparently chock full of really good crab meat and the spicy prawns. Small little shack place with some really good seafood.

The weekend really flew by too quickly. It was great to get to see Mom and Dad again without any other distractions. We miss all of our family and weekends like this just make it that much harder to go back to Cali for another couple of years. It won't be too long now.

With school starting tomorrow and fall upon us, it's back to reality until our next adventures- a trip to Minnesota in October, to central Washington in November for a conference, and then to Ashland to meet the Runyons. Here's hoping everyone enjoys the fall!